Revitalising the Big Scrub Rainforest: In Conversation with Dr Tony Parkes OA
By Dr Jane Barker
“It has been a privilege, a joy and a blessing in my life.”
At 93, Tony Parkes is just as fascinated by the rainforest and as passionate about conserving it as when he first became the driving force behind the establishment of the Big Scrub Landcare Group in 1993. The group has recently been renamed the Big Scrub Rainforest Conservancy to encompass the scientific projects they are involved in. Tony and his dedicated team, many of whom have worked together for over 30 years, bring their areas of expertise to their volunteer roles and find themselves at the forefront of rainforest conservation science.
During his explorations of the bush and estuary around his Tasmanian home as a young boy, Tony developed a love for life and nature that has sustained him throughout his long life. While traveling around Australia with his wife Rowena, they fell in love with the Northern Rivers region and purchased their first 20 acres in the area in 1985. Having retired at the age of 56 from a successful career as a scientist and later in business management and investment banking, Tony felt he had the energy, knowledge and skills to embark on a whole new career. His experiences provided him with a skill set to create what has been an impressive third, and now 33 year career as a rainforest conservationist. This led to him being named the NSW Landcarer of the Year in 2001 and 2015 and receiving the National Banksia Award for Community Environmental Leadership in 2016. He was awarded the Order of Australia (OA) in 2019 for his conservation work.
"Rowena and I learned about the Big Scrub, explored a remnant, and were amazed by its beauty, the diversity of life forms and the number of plant species. I fell in love with the rainforest, learned about its plight, that what remained was disappearing under a deluge of weeds, and that little was being done to save it from extinction."
Personally committed to the dream of reforesting their land, the beautiful stand of rainforest Tony and Rowena restored on their 100 acres is a testament to their dedication to returning the land to its natural state. In 1993, Tony joined forces with local farmers, landholders, scientists and bush regenerators to co-found the Big Scrub Landcare Group.
The Big Scrub
Fossil records tell us that in Gondwana land, Australia was once largely covered in lush rainforests. Tony envisions dinosaurs rubbing their backs against the rough bark of the prehistoric ancestors of the modern Hoop Pine. When Australia separated from Gondwana 45 million years ago and started moving north, the climate became hotter and drier, and the flora and fauna adapted to the more arid environment. Species like eucalyptus became dominant.
"Rainforests contracted to tropical rainforests in the north, temperate rainforests in the southern states, and subtropical rainforests in northern NSW and Queensland. This is one of the largest remaining areas of subtropical rainforest in the world and has the greatest biodiversity of any forest ecosystem in NSW. Some of the trees are genetically ancient, dating back to the days of Gondwana."
Understanding this helps us grasp Tony's passion for conservation.
The Tragedy of Land Clearing
Imagine being able to travel back hundreds of years and walk through the Big Scrub rainforest with the Bundjalung people, the ancestors of the current custodians, hunting small mammals and gathering fruit and seeds. The landscape would have been very different from what we see today. The towering canopy, reaching 30 metres above, was formed by Red Cedars, White Booyong, Blackbean and other key structural trees, creating a cooler and moister microclimate for other plant species to thrive. The soil was rich in humus, formed from millennia of recycled plant material. The canopy and understory hosted over 400 species of plants, including a diverse range of beautiful trees, vines, palms, epiphytes, plus many fungi. The forest supported numerous bird species, small mammals, reptiles and countless insects, forming a self-sustaining ecological community. We would marvel at the immense size and height of the forest giants, witness the dappled light dancing high in the canopy, and drink from the crystal-clear rivers and streams.
Describing the clearing of land that accompanied white settlement, Tony laments:
"It was a tragedy. This rainforest was among the oldest in the world and contained a large proportion of species descended from Gondwana, some of the oldest flowering plants on the planet."
When the cedar getters arrived in the early 1840s to harvest the ‘red gold’ with their crosscut saws, axes and standing platforms, they selectively removed individual trees. Later, government policy required complete clearing of land for anyone wishing to claim freehold title, resulting in the complete deforestation of the area. Over time, the rich volcanic soil was stripped away, the habitats for flora and fauna were fragmented and destroyed, and the seedbank for the precious subtropical rainforest was nearly lost.
Surveys conducted before the formation of the Big Scrub Landcare group revealed that only 1.7% of the original 75,000 hectares of the Big Scrub rainforest remained. More recent analyses indicated that less than 1% remained as 70 isolated patches of remnant rainforest. These remnants were scattered across a largely agricultural landscape with no wildlife corridors, suffocated by weeds and on the brink of extinction. Interestingly, each block of land was surveyed before clearance, providing accessible information about the original flora in the Big Scrub and the extent of the tragedy. Up to 400 different plant species, including more than 40 that are now threatened, have been identified in the remnants.
Farmers, landholders, scientists and ecologists united to rescue and reforest these remnants. The Big Scrub Landcare organisation quickly attracted 100 members, all eager to learn the science of rainforest restoration. Through experimentation, Rob Kooyman developed an optimal planting system that the Big Scrub Landcare group recommended to planters and bush regenerators. Over 33 years, the Big Scrub Landcare group has facilitated the planting of an impressive 2.5 million trees, doubling the area covered by subtropical rainforest.
"Our initial vision was to save the remnants from being overrun by weeds. We have achieved remarkable success in all the important remnants, including 10 in national parks and nature reserves. I am amazed at the resilience of the rainforest. When you eliminate adverse human impacts such as weeds and cattle, it flourishes. I enter the remnants and restored patches of rainforest and marvel at what nature has created, with a little help from us."
Science Saving Rainforest
While the work continues to maintain and expand the remnants, with the establishment of a perpetual fund to finance their ongoing management, Tony is now focusing on new and exciting ventures. One concern for Tony and other botanists has been the lack of genetic diversity among the planted tree species and in the very small populations of many key species in the isolated remnants. By using planting stock grown from seed collected from very few tress, the long-term sustainability of the remnants and the restored forest could be at risk. Genetic diversity increases resilience and the chances of trees surviving biological stressors such as climate change, insect infestations, diseases and inbreeding.
At a time when climate change is inevitable, finding solutions to this problem is of paramount importance. The Big Scrub Rainforest Conservancy, Big Scrub Landcare’s new name, is collaborating with geneticists from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, employing the latest techniques in DNA sequencing and genome analysis. Their ultimate goal is to develop a seed plantation to provide seed and planting stock of 60 subtropical rainforest trees species indigenous to Northern NSW that will have optimal genetic diversity for use in restoration plantings across the region.
This is a long-term project that is currently in the stage of collecting leaves from typically 200 individual trees across the NSW and QLD range of each of 60 species, including 30 endangered trees and 30 key structural species. Some of these trees have been identified in the Noosa region, which belong to the same species but are more heat-tolerant. Tony dreams that once these trees are planted, birds will disperse the seeds, and only those capable of adapting to change will survive. Nature itself will remedy any lack of diversity, resulting in a resilient and sustainable subtropical rainforest in both the remnants and restoration plantings.
The project will also include an innovative and highly cost effective approach to translocation plantings to help save the 30 threatened species from extinction.
This world leading approach to ecological restoration can also be applied to enhance the sustainability of reforestation projects and carbon sequestration plantings.
“This is a world-leading project right here in the Big Scrub. Citizen scientists are leading the way.”
Tree connectivity
Driven by their love of science and unending curiosity, Tony and his team have embarked on another project. They were puzzled by the slow growth and difficulty in establishing a number of species, such as the Plum Pine. The Plum Pine holds great significance as the oldest living lineage that goes back more than 200 m years and has survived in the Big Scrub since Gondwana. Unable to find answers elsewhere, the team decided to investigate mycorrhizal fungi and what has affectionately become known as the ‘wood-wide web’. Planting seeds together with mycorrhizal fungi has shown some success in commercial plantings, is starting to be applied to conservation in the northern hemisphere. Big Scrub Rainforest Conservancy hopes to be at the forefront of applying this new approach to scientific experimentation in rainforest conservation.
Tony and Rowena's forest planting now resembles a flourishing rainforest. The canopy is well-established, with some trees reaching impressive heights and boasting wide trunks. The understory is abundant with diverse vegetation, and the temperature is noticeably cooler. Small mammals have made it their home, and a wide variety of bird species have returned, bringing Tony great joy. Among them is Tony's favourite, the Wompoo Fruit Dove.
"It is beautiful and also the largest transporter of fruit across the landscape. When you see Wompoos in restored areas, you know you are on the path to restoration. It's a sign of success in the rainforest's recovery."
It serves as a true sanctuary for Tony, and when his beloved Rowena passed away, it was to their forest that he sought solace.
Rainforest restoration and conservation in the Big Scrub have largely been funded and carried out by the local community, with occasional support from government grants. Over the years, Tony and the Big Scrub Landcare group have inspired many landholders and volunteers to join the effort and rewild their properties with indigenous rainforest trees.
For all of us, it is a joy to witness seedlings grow into mature trees over time, to see the canopy form, observe the return of birds and small mammals, and catch a glimpse of the rainforest re-emerging - a homecoming for the land we inhabit.
Tony's enduring love for nature, nurtured during his childhood in the Tasmanian bush, has paid homage to the rainforest of the Big Scrub and the Traditional Custodians of this land, the Arakwal people, the Minjungbal people and the Widjabul people of the Bundjalung Nation, by initiating the process of rehabilitating the land and recreating the forest as a thriving habitat for indigenous flora and fauna.
Big Scrub rainforest conservancy
Our mission is to restore and care for our critically endangered rainforest. Founded in 1993, we are one of the successful community conservation groups in the country.
We are the voice of the rainforest. We talk to and work with governments, business, private landholders, community organisations and the community generally on our unique lowland subtropical rainforest, it’s magnificent biodiversity, its restoration and ongoing care.
About the Big Scrub
The Big Scrub was the largest expanse of lowland subtropical rainforest in Australia covering an area of approximately 75,000 hectares on rich volcanic and alluvial soils between Byron Bay, Ballina and Lismore.
Tragically it was cleared for agriculture and by 1900 only one percent remained in the form of 100 small remnants scattered across a largely cleared landscape.